Batch copy of popular short dramas

Have you ever watched a short play? What is your biggest feeling about this kind of short play? Short plays, which have been labeled as "the most profitable track in 2023", are facing a regulatory storm. Multiple platforms have successively issued announcements to crack down on illegal short plays and removed works from their shelves. Why is this? This article will analyze the popular short plays for you, let's take a look.

The short dramas that frequently expose "wealth-making myths" and are labeled as "the most profitable track in 2023" are facing a regulatory storm.

Recently, the Black Lotus Master Manual, which was reported to have topped up over 20 million yuan in 24 hours, was removed from the shelves a few days after it was released. WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou and other platforms have successively issued announcements to crack down on illegal short dramas, and removed tens of thousands of works within a week.

Short dramas are short, dramatic, and full of twists and turns. Because they can quickly mobilize the audience's emotions and guide them to pay, many "small wins big" cases have emerged, and the industry has also begun to grow wildly. "Short dramas are like online dramas back then. After the explosion, they will definitely usher in standardized management." Producer and director Li Yunming said.

Under the supervision, some practitioners have changed their pace. Screenwriter Sui Huan said that due to the subject matter, the sales and filming of some originally scheduled scripts have been suspended.

However, there are still a large number of practitioners trying to make the next hit. "Focus" asked producers in different regions such as Xi'an, Henan, Guangzhou, and Beijing, as well as several platform practitioners. Everyone said that the popularity of short dramas has cooled down, but it is still lively. The audience can't stop watching short dramas and is still desperately paying for them.

Unlike long dramas, many industry insiders believe that short dramas have a complete formula for becoming hits, from subject matter to plot, from pictures to editing, from lines to titles, and they have been proven to be effective time and time again.

One producer even told Dingjiao that he had received a production request from a platform, and the platform provided the script and they were responsible for filming. The script had been released three times before, and they were filming the fourth time. What surprised him was that in the previous versions, except for the changes in the actors, the plot and lines were almost intact, and even the names of the characters did not change, but the broadcast effect was good and the investment was successfully recovered.

How are the hit short dramas carefully designed to drain the audience's wallet step by step? After reading this article, you may be able to calm down before spending money next time.

1. Three principles of “explosive hits”: exciting images, brainless plots, and fast pace

Before dissecting the routines of hit short dramas, let’s first clarify the standards of hit short dramas.

Since major platforms have not disclosed the revenue of each short drama, "Dingjiao" combined the views of practitioners in the major platform rankings and screenwriters, editors, producers and other links, and reached a relatively consistent opinion that based on the traffic data (short dramas attach great importance to traffic, that is, the short drama platforms place information flow advertisements on multiple channels such as Douyin, Kuaishou, Baidu, Tencent, etc.) + industry reputation, they can be divided into three echelons: hot dramas, explosive products and phenomenal works.

The editor-in-chief of the short drama next year said that if we look at the data first, a drama with a total investment of 8 million to 10 million can be directly judged as a hot drama, 20 million to 30 million is a hit, and as for phenomenal works, they have to be measured by the degree of breaking the circle. For example, "Wushuang" made many people aware of this category, so it is definitely a phenomenal short drama.

Looking at the short dramas on the market, there are not many phenomenal works that are recognized by everyone. The representative works for male audiences (mainly male audiences) are "Wushuang" and the representative works for female audiences (mainly female audiences) are "The Queen Comes to Work". However, there are many hits. According to estimates, there will be two to three every month next year, such as "The Dragon" and "My Monthly Salary as a Stand-in is One Million".

According to many practitioners, three principles are essential to creating a hit short drama: stimulating images, brainless plot, and brisk pace.

In terms of screen, no matter what the subject matter is, kissing scenes and bed scenes are indispensable, and the frequency of their appearance is not low . Some works even involve them in every episode. In order to attract users, many short dramas will release such scenes in the first episode and the casting clips.

You can also use your imagination to guess the names of the short dramas that have been removed from the shelves recently, such as "My Lovely Wife XXXXXX Has Been Abused" and "Mr. Xiao XXXXXX's Kissing Scene".

A practitioner told "Dingjiao" that many short dramas are on the edge of the red line. After being regulated this time, the producers will be more restrained in their pictures.

In terms of plot, the short play needs to be simple and direct enough, and it is best if the whole story can be told in one sentence, and each line should be kept within ten words.

This is not easy for some screenwriters who are used to writing long dramas. A short drama editor told "Dingjiao" that when communicating with the screenwriters, they often found that the script was too "complicated" and had to ask the screenwriters to revise it three or four times each time.

In terms of rhythm, in addition to a fast pace and frequent reversals, special attention should be paid to the first episode and the first ten episodes.

Taking the first episode as an example, within 2-3 minutes, the screenwriter needs to introduce the male and female protagonists, explain their identities, past experiences, etc. When narrating, it cannot be straightforward, but must introduce contradictions.

"Contradiction, conflict, visual impact, and rhythm density, these elements are indispensable in the first episode." Senior screenwriter Wanzi told "Dingjiao".

Then, there will be a reversal in at least 2-3 episodes. For example, the heroine opens the door and sees someone on the bed, thinking her husband is cheating on her, but the next second she finds out that she has walked into the wrong house. The screenwriter Sui Huan requires herself to have a sense of timing in each episode to attract the audience to continue to click on the next episode and pay to watch, so she will lay the groundwork for the story in each episode to create suspense or tension.

Short dramas also follow the first ten episodes rule . The reason is simple: the profit model of short dramas mainly relies on user payment, and the tenth episode is the first payment point.

The content of these ten episodes is very interesting. The general idea is that episodes 1-4 explain the world view, the main characters and the key plot of the drama, episodes 5-8 further promote the plot and bring the user's emotions to the extreme, and episodes 9-10 leave a hook to arouse the user's willingness to pay. In short, the audience will not have a chance to breathe while chasing the drama.

There are also techniques to maximize emotions. A relatively useful method is to follow the principle that the greater the contrast between the beginning and the end, the better when explaining the identities and experiences of the male and female protagonists. For example, when describing the image of the protagonist at the beginning, try to highlight "miserable" and "low" as much as possible.

Editor Suiyin Jiliang used an example from a script she had revised. When describing the humble origins of the heroine, the original author wrote that she was a girl from the countryside, standing at the door of the villa in tattered clothes. She expanded the description of "tattered" in more detail, creating a country girl who was carrying a snakeskin bag and had patched clothes, but was clean and tidy, standing awkwardly at the door of the villa.

"This not only explains the heroine's situation, but also describes her character. It also forms a contrast with the luxurious villa and the heroine's later image." Suiyinjiliang said.

2. Two major themes: male war and female revenge

After sorting out the general ideas of short dramas, "Dingjiao" and several industry insiders further analyzed the formula for creating two popular themes.

There are many themes for short dramas at present, including war gods, son-in-law, sweet pets, revenge, sadomasochism, etc. Wanzi told Dingjiao that among the male-oriented short dramas, the war god theme has been popular since the beginning of the year and is the type that has produced the most hits among the short dramas for men . The representative work is "Wushuang".

In the female frequency, the themes of sadomasochism, revenge, and sweet pet account for a large number. However, the main plot of sweet pet is to spread sugar, and it is not easy to write ups and downs. The circle prefers revenge with strong contradictions and conflicts . "Black-bellied Maid" is this theme.

So, how do these two types of themes capture the audience?

Let’s look at the male category first.

Most of the God of War-themed movies tell the story of a male protagonist who is a local overlord but disguises himself as a small person, and in the process of constantly exposing his identity, he slaps the villain in the face.

Wanzi is best at this type of subject matter. She told Dingjiao that the secret of the God of War subject matter is the sense of satisfaction. "The male protagonist pretends to be a pig and eats the tiger, and the supporting characters keep slapping him in the face, thus creating the effect of the male protagonist constantly counterattacking, and the audience standing in the perspective of God can gain a spiral sense of satisfaction."

Wanzi said that as long as the big framework is well grasped, there will be basically no problems with the script. The screenwriter can play with the plot in the middle as he pleases.

She revealed that there are also methods to create a sense of excitement, mainly through new characters and villains.

"In each episode, the new characters who appear are required to bow down to the male protagonist and use exaggerated actions, such as kneeling, to show the male protagonist's high position and power," she said. As for the villain, he must have " idiotic logic ." "Whenever the male protagonist reveals his identity as the big boss, the villain is always skeptical, either thinking that the male protagonist bribed the other party to act, or that he relied on women to get to the top. Anyway, even if all the evidence is in front of him, the villain just doesn't believe it."

However, Wanzi also said that having a mentally retarded villain was a common writing style in the early days. Now that the scripts are getting better and better, the villain's character will be given more depth. The more powerful the villain is, the more attractive the male protagonist who can suppress the villain will be.

It was mentioned next year that when designing the plot of a short drama, one should not simply use swearing and humiliation. For example, some core elements that increase emotions can be incorporated, such as the differences between China and the West, villains who worship foreigners, etc., or some recent social hot spots can be incorporated into the plot. These small methods can enhance users' emotions in following the drama.

But sometimes, screenwriters make some principled mistakes when writing about war gods. For example, in order to create conflict, the male protagonist is beaten and made to kneel. "The protagonist is a war god, the most powerful person in the play, how can he be beaten? This breaks the framework." Lai Nian said.

Let’s look at the female category.

The revenge theme basically tells the story of a rich girl who, after being persecuted and in trouble by the villain, starts her revenge script and kills all the way.

Sui Huan, who is best at this type of subject matter, said that the core of revenge themes is emotion. This requires the screenwriter to exaggerate the tragic experience of the heroine as much as possible in the early stage. The more tragic the character is, the more it can drive the audience's emotions.

For example, in "The Maid," the heroine suffered a childhood trauma and witnessed her father falling down the stairs. In addition, the heroine was born with physical defects, which is also a common routine.

The villain in the male-oriented war series follows the "idiot logic" of not believing in anything, while the villain in the female-oriented revenge series follows the " trouble-making logic ". Her main task is to constantly create trouble for the heroine and she must be "bad" enough.

"The villain in a revenge drama has to be good at finding trouble. Whatever the heroine does, the villain will be the first to stop her. The screenwriter does not need to pay too much attention to the logic of the villain's behavior, but rather use the information gap between the character and the audience to have him create obstacles for the protagonist." Sui Huan said.

Some viewers may think that the villain’s “mental retardation” and “troublemaking” are unreasonable, but Wanzi told “Dingjiao” that when writing a skit, you don’t have to care too much about logic or think about the motives of each character. As long as his behavior and lines can bring out contradictions and conflicts, you can continue writing, following the writing style of conflict logic, emotion and story.

In addition, whether it is the male-oriented God of War or the female-oriented Revenge, we must pay attention to the payment points of 10 episodes, 30 episodes, and 60 episodes , and the script needs to leave enough hooks.

The ways to leave hooks are pretty much the same, i.e. setting up suspense through various methods.

In terms of the plot, whether the protagonist's scheme will be exposed, whether the protagonist's identity will be revealed, etc. are all common hooks. It can also be emotional, such as the supporting character has already taken action, and whether the slap will hit the heroine's face. If the above routines are used over and over again, new characters can be added to keep the suspense.

Sui Huan said that these ways of setting up suspense have been tried and tested. After watching two or three short dramas, the audience will discover these routines, and the plots involved in these hooks are often that the male and female protagonists are safe and sound and continue to cheat.

3. Want to be more "explosive": lines, editing, and the title all have their own tricks

Dialogue and editing are also two important components of a hit short drama.

There are two things that a skit's lines should meet: first, they should be qualified; second, they should be concise.

Qualified means meeting the standards of the times and not being ahead of the times. For example, if a Qing Dynasty official position appeared in the Tang Dynasty, such a low-level mistake would not be allowed.

Concise means "using the fewest words to make the character slap himself in the face". In short, the lines should be plain and without any modifiers.

Wanzi was not used to it at first. “For example, the president of a listed company, who has received high-quality education at home and abroad, said in public, ‘I really hate this woman.’ I think this is very vulgar.” But later, she found that users did not care about the identity of this character at all.

This is also a common problem faced by screenwriters who switch from online novels and long dramas to short dramas. The lines cannot escape the literary quality. "Don't be too literary, and be concise," Li Yunming said, "The character uses the simplest lines to attack the other party and the simplest means to slap the other party in the face."

A producer gave two examples of scripts he had received. One was a big platform production, and the filming team used a luxurious team for long dramas, but the screenwriter wanted too much. The first ten episodes were full of characters and the lines were very long. "When we read the script, we were sleepy after reading the sixth episode." The other one had a small investment, a short and sharp script, and very refined lines. It was obvious that the screenwriter knew the routine of short dramas. In the end, the former was a flop, while the latter was a hit as soon as it was broadcast.

In short, from the plot to the lines, short plays must be short in every aspect.

As the last hurdle in the production of a film, editing is known in the short drama circle as a job that can turn decay into magic. Xi'an Fengxing Culture, one of the current producers of popular short dramas, is also famous for its high editing skills.

The editing skills are mainly reflected in the tone and music. A high-level editor can control every pay point of the series. Not only can he edit out the suspense points, deepen the plot conflicts through dubbing, and arouse the user's passion for watching the series, but he can also make each picture and each episode seamless, without leaving a second of extra footage, so that users in front of their phones can't help but pay.

Li Yunming has personal experience. Once when he was reviewing a film, he found that although a film was shot by himself, the post-production did not look like it was produced by his own company, and the rhythm was better. The staff around him told him that it was edited by a relatively well-known production company. "Different editing can produce the effect of two dramas." He said.

The actors, costumes, props, and title of the play also play a role in determining whether a short play will become a hit.

Wanzi said that the story framework of "Wushuang" still follows the routine of God of War - constant counterattacks. One of the keys to its breaking out is the good performance of the male lead Bai Fangwen, and the short dramas starring this actor, such as "Transformation into a Dragon" and "King of the North Sword", can also be called hits based on the investment data.

In the titles of the dramas, straightforward and earthy words such as "Mr. X, I _____ again", "After divorce/flash marriage, _____", "Rebirth of _____", as well as "the richest man" and "the best" appear repeatedly.

An industry insider said that this was not a requirement of the platform, but rather a voluntary move by the screenwriters. “They either directly copied the original names of online novels, or imitated the names of popular short dramas. The former is convenient, while the latter can take advantage of the popularity of popular works.”

" Like the plot and lines, the title of the skit cannot be too literary, but also not too earthy . For example, the protagonist cannot have the surname Wang. It is rare to use a common surname like "Mr. Wang, _____" as a title, as it is too funny," said Li Yunming.

Through the above analysis, it is not difficult to find that there is a set of replicable formulas behind the hit short dramas. More than one practitioner believes that most short dramas are still in the stage of pursuing traffic and revenue, and have not reached the level of pursuing innovation like long dramas, so there will be "routines" and "similarities".

But when users have swiped enough and are tired, will they still be eager to pay?

Author: Wang Lu, Editor: Wei Jia

Source: WeChat public account "Dingjiaoone (ID: dingjiaoone)"